Vignesh Puthur was a shock inclusion in the second innings.
The left-arm wrist-spinners are a rare breed in world cricket, so when a new bowler of this kind comes to a big stage, the eyes are glued. For viewers, it was a delight that as many as two such spinners were on the show in the El Classico last night.
If Noor Ahmad wreaked havoc in the first innings, Vignesh Puthur impressed one and all on his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut in the second dig. He took three wickets for 32 runs in his four-over spell, dismissing big batters like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, and Deepak Hooda to make a contest out of nowhere.
He was a shock inclusion in the second innings, as Mumbai Indians (MI) preferred him over the leg-spinner Karn Sharma as an impact player. Paras Mhambrey, MI’s bowling coach, explained big batters like Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma struggled against him in the nets, prompting the team to try him.
“I think when Rohit [Sharma] and Surya[kumar Yadav] and Tilak [Varma], all these guys batted against him, they felt it wasn’t that easy. So [that was] one of the reasons we felt we had the confidence of pushing him in this game.”
When Vignesh Puthur came to start his spell, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had already scored 74 runs in seven overs, with Ruturaj Gaikwad hitting everything cleanly. However, the debutant quickly made an impact, dismissing the CSK skipped on the fifth delivery of the set.
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Later, he sent Shivam Dube and Deepak Hooda back into the hut to announce his arrival in style. His bowling stood out for its ability to float deliveries in front of batters, asking them to take the risk and hit down the ground.
His average speed of 80.02 km/h during this spell was the slowest among all spinners on the show in this game. Puthur showed encouraging control over his lengths, which was impressive for someone who has yet to make his T20 debut.
He bowled fuller lengths consistently, as visible with his average length of 4.78 meters. Vignesh has started well but must work on more speed variations and lengths to remain economical as he plays on better batting decks moving forward, especially in MI’s home games at the Wankhede Stadium.
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